Puzzle Pieces
by Iheartbd's
Summary: Drabbles that try to unearth the hidden bitter feelings in Heros of Olympus. Chapter 11: Jason was no longer sure.
1. Pathetic

**Hi! I have gotten into true drabbles, so here's my shot. Review as always! If you need help figuring out what a scene is, PM me.**

Annabeth always had a plan.

Her plans always worked.

She was the one who saved the day.

Without a plan, she could not help. But what was she to do? She didn't know where he was, how to get to him. She had no plan. She was no help.

And so, she endured, for the sake of the other campers, but she didn't live. Not if he had no chance to. But she knew what she truly was. She was pathetic.

Who was she to be a daughter of Athena? Daughters of Athena always had a plan. She didn't. Pathetic.


	2. Rejection

Leo protected his heart.

A sense of humor coated the true bitterness inside. He flirted around to show he was okay, but he knew no one took him seriously. He counted on it.

Because, when people saw the true him, all of the hatred and rejection, they were scared. As they should be.

Hazel saw through him. She comforted and protected him. He was willing to shed his bitterness for her, but she was already claimed. She looked back at her boyfriend, and he knew.

Hazel left. Leo withdrew further into his shell.

One more rejection he just couldn't handle.


	3. Disgusted

Reyna was disgusted.

Jason had always been there for her. Right after he had defeated Krios, he had told her he had done it for her. She laughed him off.

Then, he was kidnapped. Reyna's goals changed. Everything was for Rome, because she could do it for no other.

Now, a boy stood near her. She offered to court him. _For Rome_, her mind said, _do it for Rome_. It was the right thing to do, but it made her sick.

When he declined, she was relieved. It would have been spitting on Jason.

What kind of praetor was she?


	4. Youth

Julia didn't get it.

The camp was so solemn, marching with straight faces. Nobody stopped to play anymore.

Julia was young enough to escape most of the pain, but she did ask one question. Where was Jason? He always stopped to tickle her under the chin and tease her.

Julia missed him. Every time she asked when he would be back, Reyna would let out a strangled half sob, and everyone else would look on sadly. 'Now, Julia, don't ask that question. Be a good girl and take these people's weapons,' Terminus would say, but never answer.

Where was Jason?


	5. Worried

Sally was worried.

Every moment the clock ticked by was a moment she went without information on the whereabouts of her son. More of a chance he was never coming back.

Paul helped. Every time he noticed her sitting in a chair, waiting at the door for news, he would comfort her and tell her that Percy would be home any minute and they should go play a game. His heart wasn't into it. He had already given up.

The one person who truly believed was Annabeth. They believed because the alternate was too hard to bear. They believed together.


	6. Choose

Hazel wasn't sure.

When she saw the scroll, she had hoped. She had thought it was him, but it couldn't be. Coincidences happen, right? But she knew they didn't. She knew someone, somewhere, was playing with her mind.

She hated herself. She was hurting another she loved, but what was she to do? Leo called for her. He was the chance to get her old life back, before it had gone downhill. She wanted that.

Could you not love two people? Hazel was sure she did. Two people from two pasts, giving her two different futures. How would she choose?


	7. Replacement

Annabeth didn't like Jason.

When Jason came, everyone looked up to him. He was a child of Zeus, the first since Thalia.

When Jason came back from his quest, everyone admired him. Percy faded into the background, became 'that one who saved Olympus once.'

Jason became a hero, but he wasn't truly. Percy was the hero of Olympus, but everyone forgot. And along with Percy, they forgot Annabeth's pain. They pressured her to get better, not knowing what she was feeling. They didn't get it.

Annabeth knew better. Jason was a replacement, that was all. Percy was the true hero.


	8. Untrustworthy

Nico was untrustworthy.

What was a person who couldn't keep a promise worth? Nothing, that's what. And now it showed.

How many times had he let down his friends? Five times? Six? He had already lost count.

Not that it mattered, anyway. It was several times too many.

Now, they were at war again, and he was stuck here. Nobody would rescue him, though. They were too busy, and heck, wouldn't it just be easier to leave him here? Where he couldn't betray someone?

Now, with just his thoughts as companions, he realized something.

He was untrustworthy.

He was worthless.


	9. Adequate

Annabeth did not like Hera.

The one thing she had ever gotten from Hera was her friends.

Leo, Piper, and Jason formed a twisted sense of normalcy for her. They comforted and helped her. In fact, they were the only ones who would even come close sometimes.

When Annabeth spaced out with that cornered look in her eyes, they knew what to do. They realized that she felt trapped in her life of nightmares, but that didn't mean they understood. Only one person would, and he was gone. Missing.

Because, truly, when she looked at it, they just weren't adequate.


	10. Forgot

Percy didn't know.

He knew nothing. Not one thing from his past stayed.

He thought that he had been someone important. A leader, a friend, something to make his past life worthwhile. But he didn't remember, and now he had to start over.

He'd be okay with that, had he not remembered something. Just a name, to go with a face. But that one memory was deadly. It made him have to remember again, for that one person who he thought might be waiting for him.

Because when you have someone to do something for, you can't let them down.


	11. Terrified

Jason was no longer sure.

He hadn't liked Percy at the start- who was he, to come and assert himself as leader? Jason was a leader! But they had followed Percy.

Now he was gone, and two seats were empty. There was no fight for the head of the table, but Jason couldn't take that seat. It wasn't his; he hadn't earned it. It was Percy's.

But people needed him. Relied on him. He should welcome this, should revel in it. But for the first time, he was terrified of leading.

Terrified. And Jason knew why; he was no Percy.


End file.
